Burger of the Month Specials: Feb. 2016

Happily, this wasn’t what I expected. With Mardi Gras, Valentine’s Day and Presidents Day crowded into February, I expected lots of Creole, Cupid and Honest Abe Burgers of the Month specials. And there are a few clever holiday-themed burgers in the list. Bobby Flay has a Louisiana Burger at his Bobby’s Burger Palace chain and Burger Fusion has a Mardi Gras Fusion Burger (with a shrimp-andouille patty). Two joints—Burger, Tap & Shake in D.C. and Drake’s in Franklin, Tenn.—have burger versions of New Orleans muffaletta sandwiches. As for Valentine’s Day, Moo Cow Moo should have gone with a Cupid theme instead of its unfortunately named Red Hot VD Burger.

Bobby Flay’s Louisiana Burger

Instead, to my surprise, the list of Burger of the Month specials includes such fun and creative burgers as The Spaghetti Incident, The Walker Texas Ranger, Big Ben Boogie, The Stuffed Lasagna, The Sumo, Obituary, Screaming for Vengeance, Not Your Mamma’s Meatloaf and a Surf the Blue Wave burger from a burger joint in Copenhagen, Denmark. Fascinating. You’re missing a guaranteed good time if you don’t read the whole list of 50+ February specials, which you can do here.

Mooyah’s Double Diablo

Burgers are served in a wide and diverse number of cultures and yet there’s a commonality to burger building. Take a look at the February BOTMs from the four burger bars that join this list for the first time this month. Hey! Ho! Garage Burgers in Muntinlupa City, Philippines, has a great name and a great February BOTM: A 1/3-lb. burger patty is topped with beer Cheddar, spiced lamb-tomato sauce, Parmesan-breaded eggplant, potato and sautéed onions and green chilies. Friends & BRGRs in Helsinki, Finland, has the right idea, too. Its February special is the Chevre Brgr: beef, goat cheese, red onion, lettuce and house-made tomato-chili jam.

Drake’s Muffaletta Burger

Apologies to the Mooyah chain for not previously including it in the BOM list. For February it’s offering the Double Diablo: A Double Burger topped with bacon, Cholula, jalapeños, pepper jack and mayo. Also joining the monthly special parade is Montreal burger bar Notre Boeuf De Grâce. Its inaugural Local Hero Burger of the Month is the Big Matt, name for foodie and Notre Boeuf De Grâce neighborhood activist Matt Aronson. The build is two 3-oz. fresh ground beef patties, each layered with Montreal’s famous Snowdon Deli smoked meat, lettuce, tomato, mustard and house-made potato latke in the middle; served with a dill pickle wedge on the side.